Perhaps Saudi Arabia's flagship megaproject, the $27bn King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) is planning to open its doors next year to a potential population of two million people.

In charge of populating this behemoth is American citizen Joseph Kilar, president of real estate at Emaar, the Economic City (EEC), the developer.

It hasn't been a smooth process, and Kilar has been forced to switch focus on attracting foreign companies to KAEC to getting more local Saudi players involved. But the city looks set for success, with officials at SAGIA, the kingdom's investment agency, revealing recently that KAEC had attracted $35bn of investment this year.

Prior to joining EEC, Kilar was president of RD Olson, a major US contractor based in California. Before that, he served as the regional general manager for Turner Construction Co, also in the US.

Kilar studied at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where he gained a BSc in civil engineering.